16 Michelin-approved food destinations for 2026
(CNN) — In our round-up of travel stories this week: Hitler’s Wolf’s Lair headquarters in the Polish forest, Maryland’s “haunted” Baltimore Hotel, plus the best destinations where you can fill your belly in the year ahead.
Foodie travel for the year ahead
Some go where their heart leads them, but this year why not try following your stomach?
The Michelin guide, that titan of taste and tires, has revealed its list of top 16 foodie destinations for 2026 and it makes for appetizing reading.
The historic cities of Boston and Philadelphia are both Michelin picks, in the United States’ 250th anniversary year, as is the 100-year-old Route 66. Many of the diners and motels along the 2,448-mile long highway are being spruced up for the centenary.
The American South is a top pick, too; there are 159 Michelin-selected restaurants in destinations from Atlanta to North Carolina to Tennessee. Michelin also recommends an exploratory road trip in Florida, which is covered in a separate guide. Greater Fort Lauderdale, The Palm Beaches and St. Pete-Clearwater are part of the growing food scene in the Sunshine State.
Next month’s Winter Olympics has brought new infrastructure and ambitious alpine cuisine to Italy’s Dolomites, says Michelin, and the spotlight is also on Vancouver (and its excellent seafood), thanks to the FIFA World Cup this summer. Quebec’s French-influenced cooking also gets a nod; be sure to investigate Montreal’s bagel wars if you’re up that way.
Also in Italy, Venice and the Amalfi Coast are hardly under-the-radar destinations, but luxury Orient Express hotels and fancy new gourmet train routes are adding some extra seasoning.
Farther east, the Czech Republic, including the pretty UNESCO spa town of Karlovy Vary, is highlighted, as is the vibrant Polish city of Wroclaw and the 18 Michelin Guide restaurants to be found in the other-worldly landscape of Cappadocia, Turkey.
A newly launched Michelin Guide got Saudi Arabia a spot on the list and the “very affordable” Jiangsu Province is hailed as one of China’s “most refined” dining destinations, with a notable garden culture.
Finally, Manila and Cebu are the center of the Philippines’ buzzing dining scene; here’s CNN’s guide to the country’s best breakfast foods so you can start your day there right. (The full Michelin list is here).
Hitler’s hidden HQ in the forest
Deep in the forest of northeast Poland lies the Wolf’s Lair, the hidden military base where Adolf Hitler oversaw Germany’s invasion of Russia. It was also the site of Operation Valkyrie, one of the most famous failed assassination attempts on the dictator.
Today the sprawling complex is a museum and visitor attraction, where a sense of unease lurks along paved tourist trails and lingers in dark corridors. CNN took a tour of the site.
Over in Germany, the Grünes Band is an 860-mile nature biosphere along the former border between the country’s communist-era East and West. This former “death strip” was once a mine-ridden no-man’s land, but now it’s a gorgeous, peaceful sweep of orchids, wetlands and bird-rich moorland.
Georgia’s Pankisi Valley has been associated with more recent conflict and unrest. After the September 11 attacks in 2001, the US claimed al Qaeda operatives were present in Pankisi and speculated that Osama bin Laden was among them — allegations that were never proven. The destination remains on a US warning list, but American visitor numbers are growing.
Is this America’s ‘most haunted’ hotel?
People stay at the Lord Baltimore Hotel in Maryland in the hope of encountering one of the many “hospitable spirits” that staff say roam the halls. “They’re here,” says one worker at the building where reputedly “spooky” goings-on have been captured on surveillance.
In case you missed it
An immigration crackdown. A leader captured. A flu surge.
What do you remember from the week that was?
The world’s most punctual airlines and airports of 2025.
Because you’ve got places to go and people to see.
She bought a cheap home in Italy for the lifestyle.
Then her son’s health dramatically improved.
Everyone is talking about Greenland.
Here’s what it’s like to visit.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
